


What You See

by Icka M Chif (mischif)



Category: Dragons: Riders of Berk (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Dragons, F/M, Family, Family Secrets, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Pre-Relationship, Psychic Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-09
Packaged: 2018-04-19 23:06:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4764389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mischif/pseuds/Icka%20M%20Chif
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“There’s more to it than Stoick giving the horn to Oswald, isn’t there?” Astrid inquired, following her gut about what was bothering Hiccup. He’d been a little weird about it, ever since he’d made his grand appearance and declaration. “Something that you didn’t tell Heather?” </p><p>  <i>Spoilers for the Dragons: Race To The Edge episode, "<a href="http://howtotrainyourdragon.wikia.com/wiki/Have_Dragon_Will_Travel_Part_II">Have Dragon Will Travel, Part II</a>".</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	What You See

Astrid let out a soft sigh as Heather and Windshear disappeared into the distance, a small ache in her chest as they did so. Hiccup echoed the sound, his shoulders drooping slightly. 

“Thank you.” He said quietly, turning towards her, an odd look on his face. “For being friends with Heather, I mean.”

“It’s not something you need to thank me for.” Astrid frowned, letting her arm drop from off his shoulders. She _liked_ Heather, enjoyed hanging out with another girl who liked the same things that she did. 

She couldn’t really talk to Ruffnut, the two of them just never really clicked as friends. Teammates certainly, but it was kind of hard to think of Ruff as a girl, what with her being attached to her brother all the time. Sometimes it felt like the Thorston Twins were some sort of strange two bodied non-gendered entity in a relationship with a chicken. 

Astrid tried not to think about it too much, aside from avoiding their mischief. 

“I…” Hiccup ducked his head, licking his lower lip in nervousness. “Can we talk?” He asked, looking up at her imploringly. 

She looked at him for a moment, the exhaustion in his face, the shadows under his eyes. It was about a day and a half’s worth of riding to get to Berk from the Dragon’s Edge under normal conditions. Toothless was easily the fastest dragon around, and could cover over twice the distance Stormfly could in the same amount of time. 

But that meant that Hiccup and Toothless had been flying nearly non-stop for two days in order to get their answers and come back. And then fought against Dagur and the Berserkers before coming to the Dragon’s Nest and seeing Heather off.

She hesitated, almost insisting that Hiccup get some rest first and talk to her later. Except there was something sharp and unsettled in his gaze that probably needed to be put at ease first, before he could sleep. “... Yes.” Astrid finally nodded. Stormfly was settled in her stable for the night, and it wasn't like Astrid had anything pressing to do.

“Great.” Hiccup glanced around, noticing the other riders lurking. “Let’s go to the beach.” He said quietly, gesturing towards her. She stepped forward, just missing his arm as she moved towards the staircase that would take them to the water. 

Toothless let out a soft grunt, moving away from the fish he’d been eating, and pressing against Hiccup, Hiccup automatically rubbing the scaly head as they followed after. 

“Stay in sight if the two of you are hanging out and not flying.” Snotlout reminded them, cleaning his nails with a knife. “Or I’ll sic the Twins on you.” 

“Yes, thank you, Snotlout.” Hiccup drawled sarcastically and she didn’t have to look behind her to know he was rolling his eyes. 

“Don’t worry, Hiccup’s virtue is safe with me.” She promised with a small smirk. Hiccup made an annoyed sound, muttering something about his virtue that she didn’t quite catch. Probably for the best. 

It wasn’t like she had to worry about her virtue around _him_ , Hiccup never seemed interested in moving past what they were, good friends. Not that there was anything wrong with that. But… She would have liked a sign or something, that maybe he was interested in her romantically too. 

Everyone back on Berk seemed to think they were already up to all sorts of things. That was the one good thing about Dragon’s Edge, the other Riders didn’t really care. As long as they could give lip service to being ‘chaperoned’ to the adults back at Berk, everything was fine. 

And, well, it was a good safety idea, to know where everyone was at all times. It wasn’t as if life here at the Dragon’s Edge was _boring_. 

They walked in silence, Toothless lumbering quietly along behind them, Hiccup apparently lost in his own thoughts. At least until Toothless plopped down onto the ground with a grateful groan, wiggling around until he was comfortable in the warm sand. With a small contented sigh, he seemed to drift right off to sleep. 

She glanced over at Hiccup, sharing a small amused smile before they sat down close to Toothless, the sand warm on her legs as they turned to watch the sun set. “Let him rest.” Hiccup whispered fondly. “It’s been a long day.”

“How long were you at Berk?” Astrid nudged his arm with her shoulder. “You guys must have set a new record for getting there and back, it seems like you were barely gone a day.” 

“Not long.” Hiccup shook his head, giving a small sigh as he pulled his knees up towards his chest. His shoulders slouched as he did so, curling up into loose ball, exhaustion hanging from every curve of his body. “Just enough for me to talk to Dad and Toothless to grab something to eat before we came back.” 

Which meant Hiccup probably hadn’t eaten since before he left, the two of them riding hard the entire time. She bit her lip against suggesting him eating _something_. It didn't seemed like he’d planned it when he’d disappeared, but the food was in the buildings above them, which would mean delaying talking.

“There’s more to it than Stoick giving the horn to Oswald, isn’t there?” Astrid inquired, following her gut about what was bothering Hiccup. He’d been a little weird about it, ever since he’d made his grand appearance and declaration. “Something that you didn’t tell Heather?” 

He tensed, then nodded, relaxing again. “I couldn’t, not in front of Dagur.” He muttered, pushing a hand through his hair, before resting it on his knees again. “And then afterwards, she had enough trouble processing that, I didn’t want to put anything more on her plate.” 

But it was something that was seriously bothering him, or he wouldn't be keyed up like he was. Astrid didn’t say anything, just tilted her head to the side, trying to project that she would listen. 

Hiccup took a deep breath, then let it out. "Dad didn't give the horn to Oswald the Agreeable, head of the Berserker tribe."

"He didn't?!"

"No." Hiccup shook his head. "You see, Mom's brother had a son a few years old than me. Shortly after Mom... died... they had a second healthy kid. Dad gave his **Brother-in-law** the horn as a promise, should anything happen, Dad would protect the child. Protect... Mom's family." 

It took a second for the words to sink in. "So then Oswald the Agreeable..."

"Was Mom's Brother, Dad's Brother-in-law… and my Uncle. Yeah." He said heavily. 

Astrid stared in shock for a moment. “So that makes Heather… Your _Cousin_?!” Her voice cracked on the last part. 

“And Dagur too.” 

She twitched, unable to help the expression of dislike that went across her face. Hiccup caught it and laughed, just a tad bitter on the edges. “Yeah.”

“Sorry.” Astrid mumbled. Oh gods, that made Dagur’s insane crush on Hiccup just a little bit creepier. As if it wasn’t disturbing enough already. 

Which brought a more disturbing though. “Wait… Do you think Dagur knows?” She ventured. “That you’re related?” 

She was mostly expecting him to laugh the idea off as ridiculous. If Hiccup hadn’t known they were related, there was probably no way Dagur did. 

Except that Hiccup twitched. Not in a ‘hahaha no way’ sort of twitch, but a guilty sort of way. “Hiccup?”

He took a deep breath, as if he was bracing himself for what he was about to say. "I don't know much about my Mom.” Hiccup said quietly, twisting his fingers together. “It's a tough subject for Dad to talk about, so he doesn't mention her much. Most of what I know has been hearsay from other villagers. But when my parents saw each other... It was like they just... _Knew_. They both swore they'd have no other.” 

“-Dad had to prove himself worthy, of course. Mom was a chief's daughter, and he was ten years older, but he did it.” Hiccup said quickly with a nervous little laugh. “And they married and had me, before Mom was killed in a dragon attack."

Astrid stared at him. There were myths, legends, of those kinds of bonds. But she’d never heard that about that happening within their own generations. 

“I mention this, because about a year or so ago, about the time we stopped seeing any new dragons, Fishlegs found reference a book about the Berserkers and their ability to control Skrill. At first, we thought it was a repeat of what we already knew in the Book of Dragons, about the harnesses but…” 

He shrugged and motioned to the sleeping Toothless behind them. “What would you call what our dragons wear?” 

“A harness...” She said, catching on to what he was saying. Not the collar that Dagur’s Skrill had worn to keep the dragon from flying off, but saddles could be considered a type of harness. “Wait, are you saying Berzerkers could BOND with their dragons?"

He nodded. "That's exactly what I'm saying.” 

“Like you can, with the dragons.” She breathed. Hiccup’s ability to reach out and soothe the dragons, bond with them, nearly approached a supernatural level. Witchcraft, some of the villagers had muttered originally. 

Astrid could do it too, she was the next best out of their group at calming dragons, but no where near to the same extent. Hiccup could safely walk up to wild dragons that would make her think twice and reach for her axe, and they’d just accept him as if he were one of their own. 

Just like Heather had done with with Windshear. 

“The only time Dagur was really anything approaching sane was when he had the Skrill.” Hiccup ran a hand through his hair. “He’s deranged, not stupid. But grabbing the Skrill, harnessing it, double crossing Alvin, and gaining the Outcasts into his Armada… That’s a little more complicated than usual.”

Astrid thought about it, remembering Hiccup’s flightiness before he’d started in the Dragon Arena, and the determined focus he’d gotten afterwards. Even Gobber had noticed it after dragons had come to live on Berk, figuring it was because he had a purpose now. 

But if it was because he’d bonded with Toothless, that would explain a lot too. 

“So, wait. When Dagur started calling you ‘Brother’, you think it was something like that? He looked at you and recognised you as kin?” Astrid blurted, then paused. "I always thought it was strange, how quickly you bonded with Heather." 

Hiccup didn’t take to many humans very well, either before or after Toothless. And it'd never seemed romantic between Hiccup and Heather. Now that she had more context, it was more like how Hiccup reacted with Toothless, as if he'd seen her and saw himself, and so treated her as if she were family.

Hiccup nodded. "I don't think Dagur really saw _me_ until the whole 'protecting him from the Night Fury' ruse. And once he did-"

“ **Brother!** ” Astrid mimicked, throwing her hands in the air and earning a dark look. She snickered for a second before turning serious again. “So that explains you and Heather, but not Dagur’s weirdness.”

“It kind of does.” Hiccup waved a hand in the air. “Imagine some part of your brain constantly seeking that kind of connection, that bond, and not finding it.” 

Like how she was constantly aware of where Stormfly was at all times, making sure her partner was okay. Or how she kept an eye out for Hiccup and Toothless. 

Knowing they should be there and not finding them… “It’d be enough to go crazy.” Astrid mused. “Deranged.” 

“Add to that Dagur’s crazed possessiveness...” He shuddered.

“And if he can’t have you, he’ll kill you.” Astrid said, a cold feeling setting in her gut. “Wait, you think he tried to _kill his own SISTER_?!” 

“When they were children?” Hiccup nodded grimly. “Most likely. Probably what made Oswald send her off to be raised by a foster family for protection. And for as violent as Dagur is, there’s only ever been one island that he’s razed to the ground.”

“Killing Heather’s adopted family.” She took a deep breath, trying to quell the uneasiness growing inside of her. “You think he somehow _knew_ she was there?” 

“Possibly.” Hiccup murmured, a ill look on his face. Hiccup and Dagur always seemed to find each other without meaning to, drawn together like a thistle to wool. 

She could understand his decision not to let Heather know about everything he had learned. That Dagur may have slaughtered not only the people Heather called her family, but an entire village because she just happened to live there. 

Astrid wasn’t ready to hear that, much less Heather. She shook her head, trying to think of something lighter to talk about. 

“Did you ever… _see_ me?” She blurted, her thoughts shifting back to an earlier part of the conversation. They had grown up together, unable to escape the close proximity of the village. 

“Ah…” Hiccup cleared his throat and nodded, looking uncomfortable. 

"What did you see?" Astrid inquired softly. "When you saw me?"

Hiccup was quiet for a long moment, staring out into the water as the sky changed colours above them. 

"Fire." He eventually murmured, a slight blush on his cheeks just barely visible in the fading light. "Confidence. Bravery. Skill. A Viking Warrior." The corner of his mouth twitched, either an aborted grimace or smile. "Everything I wasn’t.” 

A ‘Viking Warrior’. Which meant before Toothless. Before the dragons. Over five years ago.

He’d never said anything. Back then, it made sense, she wouldn’t have given him or anyone else the time of day, and made it very clear to broadcast that. 

At least, until he’d gotten her on the back of a dragon, and then’d flown through the skies. And she’d seen _him_ for the first time. 

But since then, he’d never made a move towards her that suggested they were more than friends. It’d always been her to make the first move, to grab him, to kiss him. 

She didn’t know what to say to that.

Eventually Hiccup yawned, then shook his head, pulling her out of her thoughts. “We should probably head back.” He muttered, looking exhausted. He reached a hand out towards her as he got to his feet to help her up, and she ignored it, as she always did. A Viking Warrior always stood on their own. 

Toothless grunted, sticking his head under Hiccup’s outstretched hand. Hiccup beamed at the dragon, the two playfully bumping against each other as the Night Fury got to his feet. 

Astrid froze, staring at Hiccup’s hand on the dragon’s head, having an odd moment of deja vu. 

Hiccup was always reaching out towards the dragons. To bond, to calm, to say hello. And if they wanted, they touched back. If they didn’t, he didn’t press the issue, leaving his hand outstretched until he’d gotten a signal one way or another. 

Because he respected them. 

He was treating her like a dragon, like one of the proud creatures that could easily kill him. 

He never turned her away if she made the first move. If she leaned on him, he leaned back. If she kissed him, he’d kiss back until she pulled away. 

But she’d never taken his hand when he offered it to her.

“Oh.” She murmured, feeling like a fool. 

Hiccup paused, turning to face her. “Astrid?” 

“Nothing.” She assured him with a small smile. He returned it, but didn’t reach towards her again. 

Part of her was disappointed, but part of her was relieved too. She’d spent so long thinking he wasn’t interested in being more than friends that it was going to take a little while to believe that maybe he really was.

Hiccup being Hiccup, he was showing it as a dragon would.

She felt like giggling as she trotted to catch up, walking on Toothless’ other side. The Night Fury grumbled the whole way, complaining as they went. Hiccup soothed his partner with dry humor, promising fish and sleep as soon as they got to their hut. 

Astrid smiled to herself, making a plans to drop off extra fish to their hut. Neither Hiccup or Toothless were probably going to be in a state to do so once they got up there. Chances were, they’d probably fall immediately asleep and they wouldn’t see either of them for a day or so, leaving Astrid nominally in charge of their group. 

But after they woke up, the next time Hiccup reached out to her, she’d reach back. 

-fin-

**Author's Note:**

> The theory that Valka and Oswald are related is my own, but it kinda explained a lot of little details about how Heather and Hiccup, and Hiccup and Dagur react to each other. *shrugs* 
> 
> The distance between the Dragon's Nest and Berk is from the [Map on the Race to the Edge Website](http://www.dreamworkstv.com/race-to-the-edge/map/#/map). The map kind of makes sense, but it kind of doesn't, given how far away Itchy Elbow is from Berk and how fast Astrid finds Hiccup in HTTYD2. 
> 
> Character ages and dragon speeds were taking from the official [Dragonpedia](https://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/explore/dragons).


End file.
